The development of research on excellence is outlined. It is argued that a focus on the heredity of excellence, which marked the beginnings of scientific research into excellence and then prevailed for a long time, fails to explain many important issues. Social mechanisms underlying the growth and acquisition of individual excellence are classified in terms of clusters of excellence at different levels (cultures, families, geographical clusters, groups, excellent organizations). Misconceptions about the emergence of clusters of excellence and about individual expertise are analyzed. It is reviewed how the contributions to this special issues help to overcome these misconceptions.